In particular, cloud rap often utilizes looped samples from female singers, and often from those whose voices have an ethereal quality. Ĭloud rap pulls from a diversity of rap sounds and locales: from both the East and West Coasts and the South. Frequently vocalists use nonsensical catchphrases and Twitter baits, such as interjections like 'swag,' and references to being 'based,' which highlights a sense of self-aware absurdity as an attempt at parody while embracing its genesis in Internet culture. Cloud rap's lyrics sometimes revolve around themes of love and betrayal, as well as more typical themes found in popular music such as sex, drugs, and alienation. The label 'cloud' denotes distinct characteristics of the genre such as its 'hazy,' ethereal aesthetic (in terms of both aural and visual expression) and its ambiguity as a genre without clearly defined borders. Such influences include hip hop, drum and bass, grime, and trip hop, R&B, dance, indie, rock, and pop music genres. The genre takes inspiration from the 'diversity of influences and the easy accessibility' that cloud computing entails. Characteristics Ĭloud rap is rhythmically similar to lo-fi and chillwave but distinguishes itself with distorted, psychedelic samples and the inclusion of rap. The genre garnered mainstream attention in 2011 with rapper A$AP Rocky's debut mixtape, Live. The compilation consists of songs that fall in the cloud rap genre. The term was also used in the Space Age Hustle blog's compilation of songs, 3 Years Ahead: The Cloud Rap Tape. Producer Clams Casino has also been credited with pioneering the cloud rap sound as early as 2010 through collaborations with Lil B. In a 2009 article, music writer Noz wrote that rapper Lil B showed him a CGI image of a castle in the clouds and said 'that's the kind of music I want to make,' crediting Lil B with the coining of the term. Some have attributed the term to rapper Lil B. Later in 2006 more building blocks, such as hazy and relaxed sounds, can be found in Viper's second album, Ready.and Willing. Įlements of cloud rap, like lo-fi and dreamy atmospheres, can be heard as early as 2001 with cLOUDDEAD's self-titled album. The term 'cloud rap' is popularly used in reference to lo-fi, hazy rap.

Origins Ĭloud rap initially came out of Atlanta, Houston, and Memphis during the late 2000s.

The term 'cloud rap' is related to its internet birth and its ethereal style.

Many music experts credit rapper Lil B and producer Clams Casino as the early pioneers of this style. Cloud rap is a subgenre of rap that has several sonic characteristics of trap music and lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound.

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